JSSA empowers individuals and families to achieve well-being across their lifespan. FY 2020-2021 Learn more www.jssa.org
JSSA’s Community Impact:
Empowering Individuals and Families to achieve well-being at any age and stage of life.
Who we are:
JSSA is a nonprofit health and social wellness organization serving the Washington DC Metropolitan area. JSSA helps individuals surmount life’s many challenges, including mental health concerns, obstacles to employment, and aging-related issues. As a 501 (c)(3) non-sectarian agency, our doors are open to people, who are racially, ethnically, religiously, and culturally diverse—reflective of the Washington region. JSSA’s mission – to empower individuals and families to achieve well-being across their lifespan – inspires us to provide a broad range of high-quality services and programs for children, families, and seniors of every background, race, and ethnicity. For more than 128 years, JSSA has provided a safety net with essential services for the most vulnerable in our community. During the COVID-19 public health crisis, many people whom we serve have become increasingly vulnerable. Our organization responded with innovative continuity of care to meet urgent needs that address our neighbor’s challenges – including social isolation, food insecurity, and transportation needs, in addition to focusing
on their physical and emotional health.
What we do
JSSA’s six primary services, Mental Health, Employment Services, Aging-in-Place and Holocaust Survivor programs, Premier Homecare, and JSSA Hospice, have experienced significant growth and expansion. JSSA offers services through its four office locations; two in Rockville, and one in Silver Spring, and Fairfax, Virginia. We provide broader access to our affordable, quality services through extensive community partnerships with other medical providers, community organizations, schools, and synagogues. In FY20, the agency’s 207 full-time and 285 part-time staff served and supported 23,400 clients through all service programs. In the last six years, the agency’s operating budget, now $37 million, has grown by 90% as we have added new partnerships and provided more intensive services to help our most at-risk neighbors. JSSA is proud to be among the very few organizations to have earned a 4-Star Charity Navigator rating for the last eleven consecutive years.
JSSA helps… • Vulnerable neighbors navigate local systems of support and resources. • Children, adolscents, adults, and seniors dealing with anxiety, depression, and relationship-issues. • Individuals with disabilities and others facing unemployment, job loss, and financial stress secure competitive wage positions. • Older adults facing social isolation – through technology, friendly visitors, and other programming to stay connected. • Individuals and families facing chronic & life-limiting illness by providing expert hospice care and comfort. • Individuals needing encouragement through hundreds of support groups and presentations.
How to Join Us
JSSA is continuously seeking passionate, talented, and dedicated volunteers to help us advance our mission. Through wide-spread outreach, JSSA seeks individuals who understand and represent the diversity of JSSA’s program business lines, geographic reach, and demographics of the communities we serve. The following opportunities provide a way to understand and appreciate JSSA as an organization, our programs, services, and our community impact.
I. JSSA Committee and Task Force Participation OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE ON A JSSA BOARD COMMITTEE OR TASK FORCE • Finance Committee meets to review JSSA and Premier’s financial performance monthly via Zoom. The committee also serves as the agency’s budget committee and, in this capacity, meets 2-3 meetings in late Spring to review and endorse management’s proposed budget and then convey it to the entire Board for approval. Helpful committee member experience includes a background in business, finance, or other fiscal operations. • Investment Committee meets quarterly to review and monitor JSSA’s Endowment portfolio performance with the professional fund manager. Helpful committee member experience includes background/knowledge of investments or in related financial or economic fields. • Compliance and Risk Management Committee meets quarterly to ensure the organization meets its regulatory reporting obligations per the highest ethical business standards, applicable laws, and regulations and delivers the highest quality services. Committee members review and discuss potential compliance and quality concerns and issues and programs’ benefits and delivery, as necessary. Helpful committee member experience includes background/knowledge in law, regulations, health and human services administration/practice, or other executive management experience. • Development Committee is a non-standing Committee that provides strategic guidance and partnership to the Chief Development Officer in philanthropic resource development. Committee members endorse the annual development plan, help identify new charitable resources, and make community connections. Helpful committee member experience includes relationships throughout the corporate, civic, and nonprofit communities. OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN A JSSA COMMUNITY COMMITTEE • Planned Giving Study Group Engages estate planning professionals in high-level conversations about estate planning topics. The interdisciplinary group includes attorneys, CPAs, insurance professionals, bank trust officers, financial planners, wealth managers, and stockbrokers. The group meets on the 3rd Tuesday of each month (September – June) from 7:45 – 9:00 AM at the JSSA Ina Kay Building, 200 Wood Hill Road, Rockville, MD. • JSSA Scholarship Committee Every year, JSSA offers scholarships and interest-free loans to local undergraduates, graduates, primary and secondary students, and students attending vocational training programs and Study in Israel programs. These scholarships and loans made possible through the generous donations of several individual benefactors. The JSSA Scholarship Committee meets annually in May to select and determine the financial award level for qualified scholarship applicants eligible for consideration per the JSSA scholarship benefactors’ published guidelines. Helpful background includes knowledge of the community’s public and private secondary schools, interpreting financial forms, and comfortable with technology.
II. Become a JSSA Program Volunteer JSSA’s Aging In Place services, Holocaust Survivor, and Hospice programs partner with hundreds of volunteers to improve individuals’ lives in our community. Volunteer interests and skills are matched with the needs of clients, patients, and staff. Individuals and groups of every denomination are welcome. Volunteers are onboarded with as much care as JSSA staff and must complete an online application, interview, background check, and training. MEALS ON WHEELS volunteers pick up nourishing kosher meals and deliver them to seniors in Montgomery County who cannot cook for themselves. Meals are picked up in Rockville at 9 AM and delivered Monday through Friday. Commitment: 3 hours weekly. HOLIDAY BASKET DELIVERY volunteers deliver packages of food and ritual items at Passover, Rosh Hashanah, and Thanksgiving to individuals and families who could benefit from help during the holidays. Commitment: 3-4 hours per week, three times per year. HIMMELFARB MOBILE UNIVERSITY volunteer instructors help seniors living in residential facilities stay healthy by engaging their minds. Volunteers provide lectures, typically 1 hour in length once a month, 6+ month commitment. All perspective volunteer instructors will need to provide a sample course outline and a 15-30 minute preview with the volunteer coordinator. Commitment: 6-month commitment –2-3 hours per week when live. Currently looking for volunteers to provide virtual and/or pre-recorded classes. UNIPER CARE volunteer virtual instructors help JSSA Holocaust survivors stay healthy by engaging their minds in learning through a unique program that brings the classroom into homes through client television sets. Volunteers provide courses that are 30-60 minutes long weekly or through featured limited series. Requires familiarity with presenting on the ZOOM platform. All perspective volunteer instructors will need to provide a sample course outline and a 15-30 minute preview run with a volunteer coordinator. Commitment: varies. CAFÉ EUROPA volunteers help serve meals to seniors at a special luncheon held twice a year for Holocaust survivors living in the Washington DC area. Commitment: 2x a year on a Thursday, from 9 AM-2 PM. FRIENDLY VISITORS provide social visits for Holocaust Survivors, Meals On Wheels recipients, and other socially isolated seniors who would benefit from the interaction. Activities range from looking at photos, reading aloud, playing a card game, going for a walk, or sharing stories over coffee. Currently, all friendly visits are conducted over the phone or virtually. Commitment: 1 hour weekly for 6+ months. Currently seeking Russian speaking volunteers.
PERSONAL SHOPPER volunteers grocery shop for clients who cannot travel on their own to the grocery store. Many seniors who need this assistance live within senior communities with elevators. Volunteers will need to be comfortable entering various communities and riding elevators. Commitment: 1 hour weekly for 3+ months. TECH TUTOR volunteers are tech-savvy Russian speakers available to teach seniors how to use their electronic devices. By tech-savvy, I mean do you know how to perform basic operations?! Electronic devices may include mobile phones, tablets, and/or computers. Many of our seniors need basic help with learning how to send and receive texts, download apps, open emails, perform internet search functions, etc. Commitment: 2-3 visits 90 minutes each. NOURISH NOW is a food recovery warehouse, so clients have access to fresh food and pantry staples. Nourish Now volunteers go once a month to the warehouse to pick up and deliver the food to their client. Some clients need help putting the food away, while others are grateful for the delivery and smile. The Nourish Now warehouse is open Monday through Friday, 11 AM-3 PM. Commitment: once per month 2-3 hours. COLLECTION DRIVE: Volunteer hosts a collection drive based on the current need of clients. Volunteer advertises with family, friends, colleagues to collect new items of need. Volunteers package collected items into kits and then drop them off at our office in Rockville for care managers to distribute to clients. Commitment: Occasionally monthly. HOSPICE volunteers offer emotional, spiritual, and social support to people in their last weeks and months of life and their families. Transitions volunteers provide companionship, help with shopping, and provide respite for caregivers to help people living with a life-threatening illness and their families. Hospice/ Transitions volunteers must complete a 3 Phase Training, consisting of online and in-person training. Commitment: varies. OFFICE SUPPORT volunteers help cover the front desk receptionist position as on-call and floater coverage during the lunch hour. This position would answer the phone, greet clients, welcome guests, etc. Commitment: varies.
III. Participate in JSSA Events • Special Briefings: Throughout the year, JSSA offers special informational and update briefings to supporters that provide in-depth background on health and social wellness topics. • JSSA offers three significant annual events for supporters and the general public: The Community Impact Fund — Spring Event, Corporate Networking Breakfast — Fall Event, and The Stars Come Out — Winter Donor Appreciation Event. JSSA Chai Society members receive complimentary admission to the Community Impact Fund event. • For tickets, sponsorship information, and volunteer opportunities, contact Wendy Enderson, Director of Major & Planned Gifts, at wenderson@jssa.org or subscribe to our mailing list www.jssa.org/subscribe.
Next Steps
Visit JSSA’s website and become familiar with our programs, services, leadership, and financial information. Reach out to Deborah Peeples, Chief Development Officer, 301-610-8343 or dpeeples@jssa.org Serving Maryland, DC, and Northern Virginia
JSSA Locations:
ROCKVILLE – FALLSGROVE The Ina Kay Building 200 Wood Hill Road Rockville, MD 20850
301-838-4200
ROCKVILLE – MONTROSE The Elsie & Marvin Dekelboum Building 6123 Montrose Road Rockville, MD 20852
www.jssa.org
SILVER SPRING 9900 Georgia Avenue Silver Spring, MD 20902
NORTHERN VIRGINIA 3025 Hamaker Court Suite 450 Fairfax, VA 22031
BOARD OF DIRECTORS: President: Candace G. Kaplan Vice President: Ruth Ruskin Vice President: Robin Thomashauer Secretary: Grant Ottenstein Treasurer: Michael Mael
Rhonda Brandes Rita Corwin Yvonne S. Distenfeld David Flyer Bill Frick Patti Goldman
Scott Green Jonathan Harris Roberta Hochberg Harold Krauthamer Jeffrey Krauthamer Sol Levy
Suzy Levy Esther Newman Marcia Nusgart Susan Plotnick Joe Rosenberg Pat Silver Jeff Yentis
AMBASSADOR’S COUNCIL: Co-chair: Michael Flyer Co-chair: Judy Oppenheim Jeffrey Abramson Cherie B. Artz Faith Bobrow Phyllis Cela Irving P. Cohen
Joan de Ponte Norman Eule Elaine O. Feidelman Michael Fingerhut Michael Goldsmith Sherri Gottlieb Larrie Greenberg
Linda Hartman Connie Heller Candi Kaplan Leslie Kaplan Larry Kline Debi Lebbin Barry Perlis
Lewis Priven John Schmelzer Jonathan Schnitzer Elaine Snider Harriett Tritell Susie Turnbull Marilyn Yentis
EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM: Todd Schenk, Chief Executive Officer Kylie McCleaf, Chief Operations Officer Amy Schiffman, Chief Medical Officer Caroline Appleby, Chief Financial Officer Deborah Peeples, Chief Development Officer
Jennifer Ripkin, Chief Human Recources Officer Cephas Silvera, Chief Information Officer